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The allrounder had earlier wanted to skip the series to play in the IPL, but he went unsold at the auction

Mohammad Isam28-Feb-2022BCB president Nazmul Hassan has claimed that Shakib Al Hasan has agreed to play in the Test series against South Africa next month. In a press briefing following Bangladesh’s third ODI against Afghanistan in Chattogram, Nazmul said they had spoken following the match and settled the issue.”Shakib gave us a letter saying that he wants a six-month break from Tests,” Nazmul said. “When we asked him, he said that he will miss Tests against South Africa and Sri Lanka because of the IPL. I replied that you have to play against Sri Lanka, to which he agreed. Now that he is not going to the IPL, I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t play the Test series in South Africa. So forget about it. This is no longer in my mind. The IPL was preventing him from playing [the two Test series], but now he will play [both series].Related

• Shakib: 'Playing in all three formats is close to impossible'

“Listen, we spoke from a distance after the match today. I can’t go near him (due to the managed event environment). I told him, I will speak to you after you come back from South Africa. He smiled and said, ‘As you say.’ As far as I am concerned, he will play [the Tests in South Africa]. He never said he won’t play. He only mentioned the IPL, so there’s no point talking about it.”Any player can refuse to play any format. I have no problem with that. But they have to tell me. He told me [that he doesn’t want to play Tests against South Africa and Sri Lanka] due to the IPL. Now that it (participation in the IPL) is not happening, I don’t see any other option.”A few hours earlier, the BCB’s cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus had said Shakib would sit down with Nazmul “within the next couple of days” to discuss his plans for Test cricket. Shakib had previously written to the BCB saying he would not be available for Test cricket for the coming six months, but things became less clear after the allrounder went unsold at the IPL auction two weeks ago.”Shakib had given a letter saying that he won’t be available to play Tests for six months,” Yunus said. “The scenario has changed since he won’t be playing in the IPL. He said that he will sit with the board president after the ongoing ODI series [against Afghanistan] to discuss the matter.”He won’t just talk about the South Africa series [the Test-leg of which starts on March 30]. Basically we will ask him for his plan for this year. There have been media reports that he doesn’t want to play Tests, but we know that he wants to play Tests.”Yunus said that Shakib will be given the latitude to tell them about his preferences rather than being forced to play in any format. The BCB began this practice last year, when it asked centrally contracted players about their format-specific plans.”It is not a matter of pick and choose. He might have some problems, so we will consider him if he tells us that he wants to play a certain number of matches in a format,” Yunus said. “Nobody is bound to play every match. The BCB is not an organisation where we consider players as mere employees. They are also stakeholders. They have the freedom to discuss how many matches they want to play.”Shakib skipped the Test series against New Zealand last month, the third time he took leave from a series citing personal reasons. The first time he took such a leave of absence was during the tour of South Africa in 2017-18, and then he skipped the Sri Lanka Tests last year due to his IPL commitments.Since the 2017-18 South Africa series, Shakib has played only 30% of Bangladesh’s Tests, the reasons for his absences including injury, his one-year suspension for not reporting a corrupt approach, and personal reasons.The article was updated at GMT 1402 following Nazmul Hassan’s press briefing.

The last 18 months have provided a challenging time for the men’s team

Alex Malcolm20-Aug-2021In May 2020 Australia were ranked No.1 in Tests and T20Is. The Test team had retained the Ashes away and won seven consecutive Tests at home. They had also won four consecutive T20I series including away victories in India and South Africa. Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit they have lost five consecutive T20I series and a home Test series to India with reports of tensions between coach Justin Langer and the players running rampant in the media. Here’s how it unfolded.September 2020Australia toured England for three T20Is and three ODIs with a full-strength squad, their first assignment since Covid-19 halted world cricket. In the first T20I they needed 39 runs from 39 balls with nine wickets in hand and lost. Australia also dropped the second game to lose the series but won the dead rubber. They then won the opening ODI before succumbing to another batting collapse from a winning position in game two. Langer gave the group a verbal lashing post-match for not learning from their mistakes in the opening T20I. It secured the desired response in the decider with Australia pulling off a stunning chase off the back of twin centuries from Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey to win the series, which the coach described as one of the best series wins he’s been involved in.November 2020 Australia thumped India in the first two ODIs of the home summer thanks to two masterclasses from Steve Smith to win the ODI series with a game to spare.Steven Smith made back-to-back centuries against India•Getty Images

December 2020-January 2021 Injuries and the need to rest players from the biosecure bubbles saw Australia lose the T20I series with Aaron Finch, David Warner, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, and Marcus Stoinis missing matches. Australia were back to full strength for the Test series and won the first match in Adelaide when they bowled India out for 36. But they lost the series from there against a second-string India side with Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, and R Ashwin all missing the decider at the Gabba. Australia’s batters failed twice in Melbourne, they dropped critical catches on the final day in Sydney to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory, before the bowlers ran out of gas at the Gabba with Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant engineering a famous chase to claim the series.Related

• After week of stress, Australia might only have papered over the cracks

• Cricket Australia give backing to under pressure coach Justin Langer

• Finch: Dressing room leaks about Langer 'disappointing' and 'not ideal'

• Langer addressed 'confronting' team review with squad ahead of tour

• Team rumblings are a 'wake-up call' which Langer won't ignore

February 2021 Reports emerged in the papers in Australia of tensions boiling over between the players and the coach during the Gabba Test match suggesting players were concerned about the team environment. Langer was shocked by the media reports but said it was “a wake-up call”.Australia then had to select two squads for simultaneous Test and T20I tours in South Africa and New Zealand respectively. Langer was to take charge of the Test squad while senior assistant Andrew McDonald was tasked with leading the T20I squad. A first-choice Test squad was chosen but the tour of South Africa was abandoned due to Cricket Australia’s concerns over South Africa’s biosecurity protocols. Australia lost the opening two games in New Zealand before Finch and Maxwell stood tall to level the series at 2-2. But the batting failed to fire in the decider and they lost the series 3-2.There wasn’t always much to cheer for Australia’s T20 side•Getty Images

June 2021 Langer joined the contracted players at a pre-tour camp on the Gold Coast ahead of back-to-back limited-overs tours of the Caribbean and Bangladesh. The findings of an internal review into Australia’s performance against India, conducted by leadership consultant Tim Ford, were presented to the group. Langer addressed the findings with the players, something Finch described as “confronting” for the coach but Finch the meeting was successful and the group was “behind him 100 percent”.July 2021 Australia toured the West Indies for five T20Is and three ODIs minus, Warner, Cummins, Smith, Maxwell, Stoinis, Kane Richardson, Jhye Richardson, and Daniel Sams who all withdraw due to bio-bubble fatigue or injury following the postponement of the IPL. Australia’s selectors opted to leave Marnus Labuschagne in England and Cameron Green at home and a host of others with international experience weren’t selected. The T20I team again disintegrated from a winning position in the first game of the tour and loses the series 4-1. Finch suffered a knee injury and was forced to withdraw from the ODI series. Carey was promoted to captain one of the most inexperienced ODI teams Australia has ever fielded and they claim a series win 2-1 despite the series being interrupted due to a Covid-19 scare.Australia’s last five T20I series•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

August 2021 Australia traveled to Bangladesh without Finch who headed home to have knee surgery. Matthew Wade took over as captain but the side capitulated on difficult batting surfaces to lose the series 4-1. They would have lost 5-0 save for an onslaught from Dan Christian in the third game and were bowled out for 62 in the last match.Two days after Australia arrived home, with the players and staff in hotel quarantine, the published a report of an incident that took place in Australia’s team hotel during the Bangladesh tour. Australia team manager Gavin Dovey was involved in a heated exchange with Cricket Australia’s digital journalist who was inside the Australian team’s bio-bubble as part of the touring party. Dovey was upset that a video had been posted on Cricket Australia’s website of Bangladesh celebrating their first-ever series win over Australia. Langer, a close confidant of Dovey’s, spoke briefly but firmly to the journalist in the immediate aftermath before the pair cleared the air the following day.The report sparked a flurry of media speculation about Langer’s coaching style and of tensions between the coach and the players resurfaced. Finch said the leaks from the dressing room were “disappointing” and “not a good look.” It led Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley to issue a statement supporting Langer and confirming he would continue on through the T20 World Cup and the Ashes. Hockley and CA chairman Earl Eddings held an emergency zoom call with Australia’s three playing leaders Tim Paine, Finch, and Cummins to discuss the tensions with the coach.Paine spoke on his SEN podcast two days later vowing that the players would work with Langer for the summer ahead.

The youngster battled cramps, an injured hamstring and a fever to script a memorable innings

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2020Vijay Merchant, Ajit Wadekar, Sunil Gavaskar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Wasim Jaffer, Rohit Sharma … and now Sarfaraz Khan, members of the Mumbai triple centurions’ club in Ranji Trophy cricket, after the 22-year-old hit an unbeaten 301 to help Mumbai take the first-innings honours despite conceding 625 against Uttar Pradesh at the Wankhede Stadium.While questions could – and should – be raised over the playing surface, where 1313 runs were scored over four days for the loss of just 15 wickets, it should take nothing away from the knock that has just about managed to keep Mumbai’s stuttering campaign alive. They are currently 12th in the combined Group A and B table, and are potentially just a win away from entering the top five. While the position they find themselves in isn’t ideal, they would be encouraged by the recent upswing in fortunes.ALSO READ: ‘I was determined to make this one count’ – Manoj Tiwary on historic tripleLast week in Chennai, they recovered from 129 for 5 on the first morning to post 488 on the back of a superb century from Aditya Tare, the stand-in captain. This set the tone for them to walk away with three points after they secured a lead against an equally deflated Tamil Nadu side.This time, they saw Uttar Pradesh notch up a big score after they had removed half the side with just 281 on the board, with wicketkeeper Upendra Yadav making a fifth of his career runs in a single innings alone from No. 7 (203 not out).Sarfaraz walked in to bat on the third day with Mumbai tottering on 128 for 4, 497 behind. He later admitted to walking out to a lot of chirp from the UP team. After all, three years ago, Sarfaraz was part of Wankhede’s away dressing room, playing for UP against Mumbai, the side that nurtured him from age-group cricket. Lack of assurance from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) in terms of his place in the side played a hand in Sarfaraz’s move to UP, his home state. His performances there weren’t inspiring, and issues with his fitness and discipline led to him being sidelined.”I was just delighted and would like to thank MCA for giving me another chance. It [century] was due for a long time. I am glad I scored my first century for Mumbai,” Sarfaraz told . “It was daddy’s [coach Naushad Khan] decision [to play for UP]. I still remember when I was leaving for UP and packing my Mumbai Ranji team’s clothing, I was literally crying because of my love for Mumbai. I never thought I would play for Mumbai again. I still can’t believe I came back and played for Mumbai. It’s like a dream.”This time in the home dressing room, after serving a cooling-off period, he was trying to give his career another push with his team in trouble. He had just made one half-century in three innings prior to the UP game, and shook off any signs of nerves by playing the way he does. He put together stands of 210 with Siddhesh Lad, 179 with Tare, and then 150 with Shams Mulani to give Mumbai a lead. It was a special effort given Sarfaraz battled cramps, a wonky hamstring, and a bout of fever during the course of the two days he batted.”Actually I wasn’t going to come out to bat,” Sarfaraz said. “Adu (Tare) was going to come in my place. I was having fever and cough, I wasn’t well for the last two or three days. Last night (Tuesday), I was okay-okay, but the fever returned during the lunch break. But I felt I should go out to bat, I felt I was the kind of player who could change the game if I remained in the middle.”Sarfaraz said the bouts of pain from his hamstring just prior to the tea interval was a result of cramping. “I hadn’t eaten anything since morning, I don’t eat usually while I’m batting,” he said. “I was tired. During the tea break, I said ‘ (that’s it, I’ve had enough)’. When I got to 250, I thought I must walk off, but the team kept backing me.”Sarfaraz’s return to form bodes well for a side that is without designated captain Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur, all of whom are either away in New Zealand or preparing to fly out to join the national team. Tare, who is currently leading Mumbai, felt Sarfaraz had matured as a player since he had last played for them.”He has a better head on his shoulders now than when he last played for us,” Tare said. “He was young, used to play a lot more shots then. He has matured a bit now. He is more selective, but still with the range of shots he has, he can bat at No. 5 and 6 and win matches for us.”

Ravindra Jadeja returns and Saurabh Kumar gets maiden call-up; Rohit Sharma named captain

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2022Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha have been dropped for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka. Rohit Sharma will lead India in the Tests, which makes him India’s all-formats captain, but the selection committee will watch his fitness closely and look to groom new leaders under him.Chetan Sharma, the chairman of India’s selection committee, said he had told all four of the players dropped “immediately after the South Africa series” that they won’t be considered “just for these two Tests”. Chetan also said that he requested them to play in the Ranji Trophy so that the selectors know where their game and fitness is at. Rahane has scored a hundred against defending champions Saurashtra, Pujara bagged a duck, and the other two have not played in the first round of India’s premier domestic first-class tournament.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pujara and Rahane have been under the scanner for a while. Pujara last scored a century on the 2018-19 tour of Australia. Rahane has just one century since October 2019. Saha and Ishant no longer command a place in the first XI when everyone is available. However, Chetan said the selectors were not closing the door on any of them.”Why not?” Chetan asked when asked if they could force their way back into the Test squad. “They have played for the country for so long, why not? Ajinkya got a hundred yesterday. A cricketer’s graph goes up and down. It is very important for the selectors to take care of the cricketers when they are going through a rough phase. You can’t just strike their name permanently.”We have told them that we will not consider for these two Test matches. There is nothing wrong if we have told the four of them that we are not considering them for these two matches. We will consider them later.”In the meanwhile let’s see how the others do. We are nobody to close doors on anybody. We have told them a period, I have requested all four of them to play Ranji, which is very important because the selectors are looking closely at Ranji Trophy. That is how we know where you are at. We spoke to the four of them immediately after South Africa, and told them we are not picking them for these two matches.”The selectors have brought back Ravindra Jadeja, who got injured during the first Test against New Zealand but is fully fit now, but were cautious with R Ashwin, who has been picked in the squad but will play only if fully fit. He is currently undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. The team management will look at his fitness in Mohali before deciding if he plays. Jayant Yadav is the offspinner in the squad should Ashwin not be ready.Axar Patel is still not fit, which has given the selectors an opportunity to give Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar a maiden call-up after he impressed them on the A tour of South Africa and stayed back as a standby for the Test series that followed. Kuldeep Yadav, who recently made his limited-overs comeback, was back in the Test squad too. “This selection committee wants to give a long run to the players it picks,” Chetan said. “If he has performed so well for us in the past, if he didn’t play because of some circumstances, we have to give him a longer run.”Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha were also not considered for the Sri Lanka Tests•Getty Images

The team announcement also ended uncertainty around India’s new Test captain. The only doubt, really, was whether to make Rohit the captain in all three formats, given the nature of his recurring hamstring injury. Chetan, though, said the selectors were satisfied with his fitness at the moment, and were also concsciously looking to groom new leaders during whatever time they get from Rohit at the top.”Rohit is the No. 1 cricketer of our country,” Chetan said. “He plays all three formats. Most important is, how we manage Rohit. These days all cricketers are professionals. They know their body, they manage it well. Now there is no problem at all. Time to time we will stay in talks with him [regarding fitness and rest]. If such a big cricketer becomes captain, automatically we, as a selection committee, feel we can groom future captains under him.”Related

• Saha parts ways with Bengal after obtaining NOC from CAB

• Cheteshwar Pujara back in India squad for Edgbaston Test

• Saha, Shami picked in Bengal Ranji squad for quarter-final

• Rahul Dravid on Wriddhiman Saha – 'Not hurt at all, have deep respect for him'

• Pujara, Rahane, Ishant, Saha will be hurting but selections are not made from individual's point of view

Keeping future long-term captaincy in mind, the selectors seem to have identified Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul as the core leadership group. Rahul captained a Test in the absence of Rohit and Kohli. Pant was the vice-captain during the West Indies series. Bumrah will be the vice-captain against Sri Lanka.Rahul, who is still recovering from injury, is not part of the squad for the Tests or T20Is against Sri Lanka, with Washington Sundar ruled out similarly. Chetan indicated that if any of them recovered earlier than expected, they would be added to the squad. “Washington Sundar and KL Rahul, according to the medical staff, have so far been ruled out of the Sri Lanka series, T20Is and Test matches, unless they recover a little early,” he said.Meanwhile Shardul Thakur, who was part of the Test squad in South Africa and has been with the limited-overs squads, has been rested for the Sri Lanka tour. “Shardul Thakur has been rested in both formats, T20Is and Test matches against Sri Lanka, but he’s available for the game tomorrow against West Indies,” Chetan said, referring to the third T20I against West Indies.India squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin (subject to fitness), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Saurabh Kumar.

The uncapped Dean Foxcroft and Adithya Ashok have been called up for the UAE tour

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2023Dean Foxcroft and Adithya Ashok have earned their maiden call-ups to the senior New Zealand men’s squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against UAE, which is scheduled to be played in Dubai from August 17 to 20. The squad is also notable for the return of Kyle Jamieson, who has been out of action since undergoing back surgery in February.New Zealand are travelling to the UAE with a somewhat second-string squad, which is without regulars Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips and Ish Sodhi.Related

• Duffy replaces Tickner in NZ squad for UAE T20Is

• Boult, Jamieson back in New Zealand ODI squad for England series

• Olly Stone ruled out of Hundred with hamstring injury

• Jamieson set to be out for 'three to four months' after back surgery

• Amelia Kerr, Daryl Mitchell win top NZC awards

Those players, however, will return to the squad when New Zealand move to England for a four-match T20I series (August 30 to September 5) that immediately follows the UAE tour. Foxcroft, Ashok and five other players – Chad Bowes, Dane Cleaver, Cole McConchie, Henry Shipley and Will Young – will also travel to England, where they won’t be part of the T20I squad but will be in contention for the two warm-up T20 games against Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.According to the NZC release announcing the squads, allrounders James Neesham and Mitchell Santner, who have been picked on both tours, have secured short-term contracts that will allow them to play the closing stages of The Hundred in the UK between the UAE and the England T20Is.Kane Williamson (knee) and Michael Bracewell (achilles), who are recovering from injuries, were not available for selection.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Foxcroft, a 25-year-old batting allrounder who bowls offspin, was named domestic player of the year at the NZC awards in March. He was the top run-getter in the Super Smash T20 competition, scoring 424 runs for Otago at an average of 47.11 and a strike rate of 131.26, and also took nine wickets in the tournament with an economy rate of 7.15. Foxcroft also performed strongly in the Plunket Shield first-class competition, in which he was Otago’s top run-getter with 631 at 45.07 while also picking up seven wickets at 29.71.Ashok is a 20-year-old legspinner who was part of New Zealand’s squad at the Under-19 World Cup. He made his first-class debut in the 2022-23 season and made a significant impact, picking up 19 wickets for Auckland in the Plunket Shield at an average of 27.84.Both Foxcroft and Ashok were part of the New Zealand A squad that played two first-class matches against Australia A in Lincoln in April.”It’s always exciting to introduce new players to the BlackCaps environment and especially so when they’re on the younger side, as Adi and Dean are,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “Dean’s been a really consistent performer domestically and that was acknowledged by the awards he picked up in March. He’s a talented and adaptable batter who also bowls useful offspin – so will add to our spinning stocks which is always valued in white-ball cricket.”Adi’s only in his second year of professional cricket, but we’ve been impressed with his consistency and attitude with the Aces and when he’s joined New Zealand A and the winter camps. With Ish Sodhi not on the UAE tour it’s an opportunity to develop our next legspinner.”Stead was also pleased with Jamieson’s return.”Kyle’s worked really hard and made great progress to be available for this tour and we’re delighted to see him return after such a challenging year,” he said. “We’re all aware of his world class skills and I know he’s really excited to get back with the group.”

Sri Lanka’s total seemed sub-par, but a key innings from Angelo Mathews set the tempo for his team in a famous win

Alan Gardner at Headingley21-Jun-2019Sri Lanka had several heroes at Headingley, with captain Dimuth Karunaratne in particular praising the contributions of his two senior stars, Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews, for helping orchestrate a famous World Cup win over the hosts and pre-tournament favourites.Having decided to bat, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start at 3 for 2 in the third over. However, after an exhilarating counterattack from Avishka Fernando, which twice saw him hook 90mph Jofra Archer deliveries for six, the middle order contributed significantly for the first time in the tournament, Kusal Mendis making 46 and Mathews anchoring the innings to the finish with an unbeaten 85.Mathews had gone into this game having made scores of 1, 0, 0 and 9 since his ODI comeback last month, but dredged deep to produce a performance of substance. Perhaps the identity of the opposition helped – Mathews averages more than 50 against England and has made four fifties in his last six ODI innings against them – as well as the venue: in 2014, he played one of his finest Test knocks at Headingley to set up a series win for his team.While Sri Lanka’s score of 232 for 9 did not look the most imposing at halfway, Mathews had discerned that the surface was unlikely to get easier to bat on.”It looked like a good flat wicket that played nicely but when we played on it, you could see it got slower and slower,” Karunaratne said. “Angelo told us it was getting slower and slower, we couldn’t get to 280-300 but we could get to 240 and that would be a good total.”He is a good finisher and he did a really good job. And he read the game very well on this track. The middle order was important once the openers got out and he did a good job.”The wicket gave us an advantage, we thought we had a chance. But we needed to take a couple of wickets and we were in the game.”Watch on Hotstar (India only): Mathew’s vital half-century sets up Sri Lanka victory Malinga ensured they would do just that, removing England’s openers and then coming back to dismiss Joe Root and Jos Buttler on the way to figures of 4 for 43 – adding another match-winning performance to his storied World Cup record. He could have finished the game with a five-for, too, had Mendis managed to hold on to a tough chance off Ben Stokes in Malinga’s final over.Armed with Mathews’ intel on the pitch and Malinga’s belief that they could pull off an upset, Sri Lanka had belied their status as the ninth-ranked team out of ten at the tournament.”Mali is a legend,” Mendis said. “He has a lot of variation, an experienced player, he’s played a lot of T20. I think he is a match-winning bowler. He’s telling the fast bowlers, spinners to use variation. He told the players, ‘We can do it today’.”I missed a catch and was scared. When we got the [final] wicket, I gave thanks.”After Malinga had shaken England in their chase of 233, Dhananjaya de Silva then turned the heat up further with three wickets in nine deliveries. His dismissal of the dangerous Moeen Ali, caught at long-off a ball after he had hit Dhananjaya for six, was particularly damaging for England’s chances.Asked if he thought England were still the world’s best players of spin, as Karunaratne had suggested on the eve of the match, Dhananjaya replied with a smile: “They are, they played very well in Sri Lanka last time they came there. This wicket was hard to bat on, it wasn’t coming on to the bat. We bowled tight areas and very good lines. I got three wickets in two overs and turned the game around.”[Moeen] can hit a long ball, so his wicket was the main thing for us. He hit me for six the previous ball, so I just slowed it up and bowled a bit wide.”Dhananjaya described the contributions of Malinga and Mathews as “key” and added that Sri Lanka had renewed confidence of gate-crashing the last four, despite complaints from the team’s management earlier in the tournament that pitches were being prepared to their disadvantage.”These are slower wickets, not the greentops – on these wickets we can beat any team,” Dhananjaya said.Sri Lanka now sit fifth on the table, one point behind India (albeit having played two games more) and with a chance to capitalise against a demoralised South Africa in their next game, at Chester-le-Street next Friday. Karunaratne was however keen that his players do not get too far ahead of themselves.”We want to go one by one, we are not thinking about it. The next game is South Africa so we want to play and win that match so that is our main focus,” he added. “We will keep focusing on that match, if we can win that we will plan for the next game.”

Tasmania will split the coaching for the new season with head coach Adam Griffith taking the opportunity to look at the overall set-up of the state

Alex Malcolm18-Sep-2019Tasmania have promoted assistant coach Jeff Vaughan to take over the main coaching role during the Sheffield Shield portion of the season in a move designed to give head coach Adam Griffith a different perspective on Tasmania’s cricket program while developing Vaughan’s coaching credentials.Griffith is the head coach of Tasmania as well as Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL. Adam Voges (WA and Perth Scorchers) and Andrew McDonald (Victoria and Melbourne Renegades) are the only other men who coach teams across all three formats in Australian domestic cricket.Griffith took time away from Tasmania’s pre-season to do a short-term stint as Australia’s bowling coach during the World Cup campaign in England, which allowed Vaughan to run the early part of the preparation for the summer. Griffith’s previous experience under Justin Langer in Western Australia, where he was given opportunities to take the reins for various short-term domestic assignments, gave him the confidence to promote Vaughan to look after the Shield side for the entire summer.”It’s something I’ve been thinking about for 6-12 months now, on how to continually develop our people,” Griffith told ESPNcricinfo. “One of my passions is not only developing our players but helping our coaches develop, including myself.”We were contemplating whether I should step back for a couple of games on tour, which is something that happened with me in WA, I was allowed to take the team away at times and lead the group.”When we sat down and looked at the schedule this year, we’ve got a new High Performance Manager and a new CEO coming in and I think it’s a really important time for our organisation as a whole and our high performance department as a whole, and giving Jeff the opportunity to lead the team on game day and have that autonomy as head coach will hopefully help his development in his space and also allow me to continue to run the program.”I’ll still continue to be the head coach of Tasmanian cricket but on [Shield] game days and leading into the games, Jeff will have that opportunity. I’ll still be involved with the Shield team and still working with the bowlers and I’m really looking forward to seeing how Jeff progresses. He’s earned the right to have this opportunity.”Vaughan’s coaching stocks continue to rise. His influence on Matthew Wade as a batting mentor since returning to Tasmania has not gone unnoticed following Wade’s impressive return to international ranks after dominating domestic cricket.”He’s already starting to think about the Shield, which is brilliant,” Griffith said. “He’s already starting to think about how the team needs to prepare and some training sessions and how we want to play, do we tweak last year, do we do the same things, selection of the team and that sort of stuff. He’s doing that now while I’m focussing on how we’re going to win our first four one day games. That allows us to do that and it allows me to get my head up out of the sand a little bit and have a look at our whole program.”Griffith’s own stocks are high as Tasmanian cricket continues to rebound strongly following an exhaustive independent review in early 2017, led by former Australian great Michael Hussey, after a sustained period of poor results across all formats.Griffith is highly regarded by Langer having worked closely with him during his entire tenure in WA prior to becoming Australia coach. Langer is looking to reshape his own coaching team and CA are yet to find a full-time appointment to replace David Saker, who ended his time as Australia’s bowling coach last summer and Brad Haddin’s contract as Australia’s fielding coach has also come to an end.Griffith said his move to step back from the Shield commitments has nothing to do with the Australian team at this stage. The exit of experienced Cricket Tasmania chief executive Nick Cummins, to a role with Cricket Victoria, and high performance manager Drew Ginn, who has been appointed new executive general manager of high performance at Cricket Australia, has left Cricket Tasmania with some holes to fill. They are still searching for a new CEO but have appointed Simon Insley as Ginn’s replacement.Griffith will coach Tasmania’s Marsh Cup squad as their campaign starts in Perth on Monday. Jordan Silk will captain the side for the first two games in the absence of Wade, who is being rested following the Ashes series. Ben McDermott will keep wicket.

India and Pakistan have identical numbers and performances in the tournament so far as they prepare for a second consecutive U-19 World Cup semi-final meeting

Sreshth Shah in Potchefstroom03-Feb-2020

Big picture

India’s highest score this World Cup is 297. Pakistan’s is 294. India have taken 40 wickets in four games. Pakistan have taken 39. And that might’ve been 40 too, had their group stage game not been abandoned with Bangladesh at 106 for 9.Pakistan captain Rohail Nazir has beaten an Indian team before. He did it as a teenager while captaining the U-23 side at the ACC Emerging Cup last year, where Pakistan knocked India out in the semi-final.Among the 11 Pakistan players who will take the field on Tuesday, Nazir is the only player to have featured in the 2018 World Cup semi-final defeat against India. Nazir said he dropped a catch early on in Shubman Gill’s innings that allowed him to score a hundred and take the game away from Pakistan. This time, he vows to not make that same mistake.As for India, “process” is the one word that rings through the camp. Despite being pushed into a corner against Australia’s bowlers, their allrounders dragged them out of a difficult situation by looking to bat through till the 50th over. The last time both sides faced, once again at an ACC Emerging Cup competition – although this was for U-19s – it was India who won by 60 runs last year. Barring that batting wobble, there’s nothing else that’s gone wrong for the side in the World Cup.There’s not much to separate both sides, so the flimsy ground on which India have an edge is evidence from past World Cups. Pakistan’s U-19s haven’t beaten India at a World Cup since 2010 and as a unit have come together far later than the current India U-19s.And then there’s the bowling departments. Like India, Pakistan have a left-arm seamer, a right-arm quick and a handy left-arm orthodox bowler within their ranks. But what they lack is a frontline wristspinner, which India’s Ravi Bishnoi is. On a used and tired Potchefstroom pitch, that may be the difference between the two sides.It’s expected to be the most-watched World Cup game so far. It will probably have higher a viewership than the final. In recent history, India-Pakistan games have not lived up to their hype. Here’s hoping 2020 is different.

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWWWL

In the spotlight

India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, is by far, their most successful batsman in this tournament, scoring three fifties at an average of 103.50. His wicket will be key for Pakistan, since India’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament – Diyaansh Saxena – has made only 89 runs. If Jaiswal can anchor through, then the remainder of India’s batting order can play around him. If he fails, the pressure shifts to a relatively untested Indian batting order.Pakistan’s left-arm quick Tahir Hussain is an unknown quantity for India. He was a late replacement for Naseem Shah in the squad and was discovered just months before the tournament, after being spotted by coach Ijaz Ahmed while he was a net bowler to the U-19 national team. The left-arm seamer can move the ball to move both ways – both in the air and off the deck – and poses a danger both with the new and old ball.

Team news

Both sides are injury-free and are likely to go unchanged from their quarterfinal wins.India (likely): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Divyaansh Saxena, 3 Tilak Verma, 4 Priyam Garg (capt), 5 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 6 Siddhesh Veer, 7 Atharva Ankolekar, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Sushant Mishra, 10 Kartik Tyagi, 11 Akash SinghPakistan (likely) : 1 Haider Ali, 2 Mohammad Huraira, 3 Rohail Nazir (capt, wk), 4 Fahad Munir, 5 Qasim Akram, 6 Mohammad Haris 7 Irfan Khan, 8 Abbas Afridi, 9 Tahir Hussain, 10 Amir Ali, 11 Mohammad Amir Khan

Pitch and conditions

Potchefstroom receives showers nearly everyday, and tournament rules say India will go through – because of more group stage wins – in case the game is washed out, but the chances of rain are only 20%. The pitch is a tired one, and team totals have fallen as the tournament has progressed. Batting conditions are tricky with the new ball and spinners get considerable purchase with the older ball.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan last beat India at the U-19 World Cup in 2010
• Among games between nations that have senior Test teams at the 2020 U-19 World Cup, the highest score at Senwes Park is 261. The average first-innings score in games between such at this ground during the tournament has been 193.5 (completed matches only)
• Jaiswal needs 52 more runs to become the tournament’s leading run-scorer

Sultans franchise owner Ali Tareen says the franchise aims to hire three female coaches before the start of the following PSL

Danyal Rasool28-Aug-2023Multan Sultans will become the first T20 franchise in Pakistan with a female general manager, replacing the departing Haider Azhar with journalist Hijab Zahid. It will make Zahid, who presently works at Grassroots Cricket, one of the only female general managers of a T20 franchise anywhere in the world.Sultans, who have reached the final of the last three PSL editions and won the league in 2021, will undergo a change in ownership this year. Alamgir Tareen, who was the sole owner of the franchise, died last month. His nephew, Ali Tareen, who co-owned the franchise with Alamgir until 2021, will now take full control.Zahid, 28, will also become the youngest general manager at the PSL. She is currently the director of Grassroots Cricket, a position she has held since the start of the year. Zahid has a master’s degree in Project Management from the University of Hertfordshire, and has previously served as media manager for Islamabad United.Tareen told ESPNcricinfo that Zahid was “the most qualified general manager among all PSL sides”. He is also committing to hiring three female coaches before the start of the PSL, and plans to institute gender parity at the franchise.”Hijab was the first person that came to my mind,” Tareen says. “I knew she was much more capable than her current job demands of her, and I knew she was the first person I wanted to talk to.Zahid said she “only needed to think about it for a minute”, but has no illusions about the challenges the role brings.”It’s a lot harder to assert authority as a woman,” she said. “It’s culturally harder for men to take directions from a woman. We have people in this industry who haven’t interacted with women in their lives through no fault of their own, especially in this power dynamic.”So I expect we’ll have a lot of conversations and workshops about having a woman in a management role here. While people are used to having women in such positions in the corporate world in Pakistan, that is less true of the sporting world. In the future, we want to train people as analysts, presenters, media managers. It will open doors for a lot of women.”While there are a few instances of women who have worked as general manager at men’s T20 franchises, it remains rare, especially outside of the Big Bash League. At the BBL, former English cricketer Salliann Briggs holds a similar role for Hobart Hurricanes, while Sydney Sixers and Adelaide Strikers had Jodie Hawkins and Kate Harkness. In Pakistan, where this provides particular cultural challenges, Tareen says he is aware of the work still ahead of him and the franchise he has recently reacquired.”I will hire a firm for sensitivity training and media training for the management and the players,” he said. “Beyond just Hijab, we want to have more females in the management team as well. This is not some box-ticking exercise or quota system. It’s about equal opportunity. Normally for these roles, sides only interview men. We want more female candidates to apply for these roles too.”We have three male coaches, and we endeavour to hire three female coaches. We want to have them in place before the start of the PSL. I expect the female coaches to be foreign coaches for now, and when we have a women’s team, these are the coaches we expect to move on and help us out with the women’s team as well. This season onwards, I hope to achieve gender parity for all seasons as long as I’m owner.”Zahid praised her predecessor Haider Azhar, calling him a “one-man army” but says she’ll approach the job in a different way, and is unlikely to be seen in the dugout during PSL games. While she said others would have to get used to her, she had some on-the-job learning of her own to do.”Take our captain Mohammad Rizwan, who I’ve found incredibly respectful whenever I’ve interacted with him. So if he has strong beliefs around any point, I’ll always be respectful of that, and I’m hoping I’ll get that back in return. You don’t always get that back from everyone though, so that’s difficult. But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in the industry. I’m comfortable with dealing with players, the challenge is to make them feel comfortable.”Ultimately, though, according to Zahid, it’s about the job. “Just because I’m a female GM doesn’t mean I’ll only hire women for certain roles. It’s about bringing our work culture into the 21st century. The vision is not about being a woman, it’s about being a good administrator.”

“If we keep playing with the same attitude, day by day, the results will eventually come”

Madushka Balasuriya22-Jun-2021″Fearless” was once again the buzzword for Kusal Perera on the eve of the first T20I against England, as the Sri Lanka captain once more leaned on the mantra that he had put forth for his side upon taking over the limited-overs reins earlier this year.”We need to be able to play fearlessly,” Perera said during a virtual pre-match media briefing. “This is not something that’s going to change overnight, but if we keep playing with the same attitude, day by day, the results will eventually come.”Perera had first spoken of playing “fearless cricket” ahead of Sri Lanka’s recent tour of Bangladesh, a plan that in the end wound up being more notional than anything else as Sri Lanka’s batters floundered in all but the last game of the ODI series.Related

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That match and victory, incidentally, had come once the series had been lost, and the pressure to perform lifted. For Perera and the Sri Lanka coaching staff, getting the players to showcase their skills more consistently and, crucially, when it matters, has been the most pressing task in recent weeks.”We’ve had a lot of discussions with the coaches on how we can translate what we do in practice to competitive matches. The problem for us so far has been that in practice we perform really well, but during a match we’re unable to produce the same performances. Each player is different. So we’re trying to see how to get each individual to a point where they can take their performances from practice out into a competitive fixture.”This inability to perform consistently on the biggest stage has led to one of Sri Lanka cricket’s leanest periods in their history; dating back to the start of 2019, Sri Lanka have won just over 30% of their limited-overs games. And while in England – the top-ranked T20I side and reigning ODI world champions – Sri Lanka’s young side faces its toughest test to date, Perera is hopeful that the relative lack of expectation placed on the visitors will help free his side of the mental hang-ups that may have been holding them back.”In the situation we’re in at the moment, it’s like we have nothing to lose – we can only really gain from this series,” Perera said. “Whereas with England they have more to lose, there is always that additional pressure on them.”Under head coach Mickey Arthur, Sri Lanka’s limited-overs side has seen one of its most drastic overhauls in recent memory, with several senior players discarded in favour of younger alternatives. This has resulted in a fair bit of inexperience in the side, but on the flip side a lot of eagerness to impress fringe players.Perera is hopeful that a string of games against one of the top limited-overs sides in the world will help solidify the players’ trust and belief in the process Arthur and his coaching staff have put in place.”When we play against accomplished teams like this, a lot of our players are going to try and bring their A game. Because it’s only when you perform well against the best teams that your confidence in your ability increases.”At the moment our team is actually quite confident – but not over-confident – and we have the belief that we can make an impact here and turn things around. Our aim is to do the right things and play a good game. We believe that we can play well against this England team, and know that the results will come if we just keep doing the right things.”That said, Perera is acutely aware that Sri Lanka will need to be at the top of their game if they are to get anything out of this series.”We need to do what we know without fear. It’s of course easier said that done. We know that of the 11 players, not everyone can bring their A game every match, but whenever a player is able to reach that level, they need to be able to see the game through to the finish.”Sri Lanka will play three T20Is on June 23, 24 and 26, while the three ODIs will take place on June 29, July 1 and 4.